Friday, February 6, 2009

We got trouble.

UPDATE: The public meeting is scheduled for Tuesday the 17th, not Wednesday the 11th as previously reported.

Sorry for the lapse in posting, folks. Midterms. They're killer, and they continue. However, my time to get this word out is short. RTA is "upgrading" our bus service again, which in the Suburban Transit dialect of Bureaucratese means "cutting". These cuts are scheduled to go into effect in June of this year, and they will further erode bus service in a region where service is already anemic. In fact, some of the worst-hit areas in both January's cuts and the new proposal are the areas where service is at its most dodgy already. (Eastvale, Norco, north Moreno Valley) Back on the chopping block is #36, an ephemeral lifeline for Yucaipa and Calimesa and the only RTA/Omnitrans connection east of Loma Linda. Moreover, cuts are also scheduled for here in Riverside. The #3/#15 connection at La Sierra/Arlington is scheduled to go away, forcing all trips to Corona to go via Main Street on route 1, and further isolating Norco and Eastvale from Riverside.The following routes are affected: 3, 7, 8, 10, 13, 14, 16, 17, 18, 19, 21, 23, 24, 27, 29, 30, 33, 35, 36, 38, 38E, 40, 42, 61, 208, 210

Chances are you've ridden one of these at some point.

There is a public meeting to discuss the changes a week from Tuesday at 6 pm at the RTA headquarters. I'm organizing a bunch of students, and we're all going to march down there and let 'em hear it. Various other public meetings are scheduled around the area, but if you want to show your solidarity, I'll see you on Tuesday.